CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On Tuesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament returns to Charlotte for the first time in 11 years. And it sounds like the ACC will be back a lot sooner than a decade or so from now.

John Swofford, the ACC commissioner, all but promised a much shorter interval for the men’s tournament next time around. Swofford spoke to the Charlotte Business Journal on Monday afternoon at Spectrum Center, where he stood next to a large tournament banner — and not far from the court, where Clemson was wrapping up a practice session. Games begin Tuesday at noon and continue through the championship on Saturday night.

The commissioner noted the ACC has commitments through 2022 for the men’s tournament: this week in Charlotte, Greensboro next year, Washington, D.C., in 2021 and Brooklyn in 2022. This is the first time the 15-school conference has had its signature event in North Carolina since 2015, when it was in Greensboro. Washington hosted in 2016 and Brooklyn followed the past two years.

“We’re here for various ACC events frequently, but it is hard to believe it’s been 11 years since (the basketball tournament) has been here,” Swofford said. “I think that rotation (of Charlotte, Greensboro, Washington, D.C., and New York) worked well and this, in a sense, is a continuation of that. We haven’t gone beyond (2022) yet.”